Nevis vs Curaçao Gaming Licence
Compare Nevis and Curaçao for the same operator or supplier model. The published Nevis category fee is below the combined Curaçao B2C annual charges in the LOK text. That does not make Nevis cheaper for every supplier, or once you add company, operating and migration costs.
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For a new project, establish the permission you need and a viable market plan. If you already operate under Curaçao, decide whether moving solves a documented problem and keeps the contracts, providers and operating arrangements your business needs.
Check the current filing position
The CGA’s 2 October 2026 announcement reports that its online gaming portal is offline. Its 2 October announcement postpones portal-document submission deadlines until availability resumes and says alternative email submissions cannot currently be processed. Existing licences and continuing obligations are unaffected.
Check current CGA notices for a later update before you set a filing date. The outage affects filing dates. It does not show that an existing operator should move or that its licence has become invalid.
Match the activity before comparing costs
The operating entity and actual service determine the comparison. A supplier registration, a supplier licence and an operator licence are three different products.
Question | Nevis | Curaçao |
|---|---|---|
Who offers gaming to players? | Separate B2C category | Operator licensing under the LOK |
Who supplies gaming systems or content? | Separate B2B category | Assess supplier licensing and the applicable registration requirements for the actual supply relationship |
Is the model mixed or white label? | White label requires both B2C and B2B licences plus NOGA's prior approval | The LOK prohibits transferring a gaming licence or giving it to another to use; assess actual control and contracts |
Which company applies? | Under NOGA's current application instructions, a Nevis company, new or re-domiciled | Curaçao company and applicable management requirements |
How long does the authority review take? | NOGA's official website describes a 4 to 6 week licensing process. NOGA told MGL in August 2026 that it reviews a complete application in 4 to 6 weeks | Get a case-specific estimate and check the portal status above |
What continues after issue? | Annual renewal, officers, reporting and operational controls | Annual charges and continuing LOK and licence obligations |
Sources: Nevis Ordinance, sections 7–8, Requirements v2, and LOK, articles 1.2, 2.1 and 5.13. The CGA's regime explanation distinguishes the current framework from the earlier offshore regime. Ignore any sales description built on the old master/sub-licence model.
Compare annual charges and application costs separately
The published LOK amounts distinguish operator charges from supplier-licence charges. On this baseline, Nevis's €28,000 category fee is below Curaçao's €47,450 B2C annual total but above its €24,490 B2B annual supervision amount. The direction changes with the activity.
Component | Nevis | Curaçao: published LOK baseline |
|---|---|---|
B2C licensing | €28,000 category fee; €28,000 annual renewal | €22,960 annual supervision + €24,490 annual licence charge = €47,450 |
B2B supplier licence | €28,000 category fee; €28,000 annual renewal | €24,490 annual supervision |
Initial application component | NOGA says the initial €28,000 includes processing, due diligence and the first year | €4,592 for operator or supplier licence application before applicable extra charges |
Supplier registration | Assess the actual approval needed | Confirm route and charge separately; do not use the supplier-licence amount as a registration price |
Nevis sources: Regulations, Schedule 1 and first-year payment explanation. Curaçao source: LOK, articles 5.18–5.19, which allow adjustments. The previous portal fee-document link redirected to the CGA homepage during this review; get the current schedule and invoice basis.
Confirm the first billing period, screening, domains and every category required. Do not count the same Nevis first year twice because “setup” and “annual” appear in different sources. Curaçao's annual amount is only part of what applying costs.
What belongs in the full comparison?
Prepare launch-period and normal operating-year budgets using the same activities, markets, domains and volumes. Include company formation/maintenance, applicable local management, officers, people and premises, advisory work, documents, testing, platform, accounting, compliance and provider charges.
Show payment reserves and player liabilities separately from fees. For migration, include contract changes and overlapping operations. Treat tax separately: a fixed licensing charge says nothing about your company's effective tax rate.
Request matching scopes through the Nevis licensing service and Curaçao licensing service. An unpriced item stays open in the budget until someone prices it.
Can the proposed company, markets and providers support the plan?
Company eligibility and continuing operational requirements need separate checks. Under NOGA's current application instructions, only companies incorporated in Nevis can apply. NOGA's knowledge base allows a new Nevis company or an existing company re-domiciled to Nevis. Choose the route before you form or move the company. Check officer rules and document dates against the Nevis requirements.
Curaçao's LOK contains local management and substance provisions. Your plan should name the applicable people, premises, timing and any relief, with sources and eligibility conditions. Do not assume that a newly formed company or supplier receives every operator exemption.
Then get partner decisions for the actual entity, owners, products, domains and countries. A bank that accepts your existing Curaçao company still has to decide on the Nevis company, new or re-domiciled. Record what is preliminary, conditional or contractual, including outstanding documents, reserves and settlement terms.
Use the Nevis market-review record for territorial fit. If your plan depends on a prohibited market, a lower fee cannot resolve the conflict. If you serve Curaçao operators, check CGA registration and related obligations separately from any Nevis supplier licence.
Should you stay, migrate or hold the decision?
Choose a direction based on unresolved dependencies as well as headline cost. These are planning criteria, not regulator-issued approval labels.
Direction | When to consider it | Evidence needed |
|---|---|---|
Keep the current Curaçao structure under review | Required providers and markets support it and the alternative has no demonstrated net benefit | Current obligations, operating budget and partner conditions |
Assess a Nevis move | The proposed scope is eligible and solves a specific business problem | Markets, partner acceptance, full transition budget and feasible operating plan |
Hold the choice or redesign the model | Eligibility, market, provider or funding questions remain material | Named owner, missing evidence and a decision deadline for each dependency |
Broaden the jurisdiction shortlist | Neither route supports an essential lawful requirement | The actual failed criterion, not an unsupported reputation ranking |
Build the migration plan before changing the public claim
Confirm the Nevis applicant, categories, brands, domains and arrangement.
Review approvals, notices, reporting and contracts affecting the current operation and its exit or continued use.
Get required platform, game, bank and payment decisions for the Nevis entity.
Name an owner for player contracts, balances, data, complaints, communications and necessary consents. Fund the overlap period.
Check issued permissions and company and domain records with the Nevis licence-check workflow. Then release the operational and website changes in the agreed order.
A pending new application does not move contracts or authorise a new licensing claim. The old operation's obligations continue through the CGA outage.
Ask MGL Solutions to compare your actual routes
Send us your current and proposed entities, activities, licences, markets, domains, providers and budget. If you plan to migrate, state the problem to solve and the contracts that would change.
Request a Nevis and Curaçao assessment with separate initial, recurring and transition costs. Ask for the licensing deliverables, third-party dependencies, exclusions and open questions that could change the recommendation.
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